Chapter 360: Battle to Overturn Destiny

Ao Yi, disguised as Ke Le'er, had reappeared in the world. She was quietly recounting her story, her face filled with sorrow.

Of course, the story was being whispered to her by Li Changshou.

In "her" narrative, she had a gentle older brother. They had cultivated together for ten thousand years, achieving the Heavenly Immortal realm, and then joined the Heavenly Courts.

After arriving at the Heavenly Courts, she became a minor fairy by the Jade Pool, responsible for tending to an unused immortal palace. Her brother became a Heavenly General and steadily rose through the ranks...

"I never imagined my brother would betroth me to that old gate-guarding Heavenly General..."

"Damn it!"

"Oh, how can you say that? This is also a strategy for promotion!"

"Fellow Daoist Le'er," the Rhino Demon said seriously, "why not come rest at my cave? My place is spacious and clean; their caves are often not cleaned."

The Wolf Demon chuckled, "Fellow Daoist Le'er, don't believe him. He already has six wives and is most skilled at giving women aphrodisiacs."

The Rhino Demon cursed angrily, "How dare you slander my good name for no reason! My feelings are genuine, true love!"

The Lion Demon stood up and said, "Everyone, if you're talking about purity and responsibility, our Lion Clan is the one! Fellow Daoist Le'er, why not come rest at my place? Among those present, besides myself, who hasn't used despicable means to take advantage of innocent women? Hmph hmph! This king hasn't even touched a woman's hand; I am the most suitable match for Fairy Le'er!"

The other demons immediately scowled. They wondered what this two-thousand-year-old Pure Yang Demon King, who had achieved the Longevity realm, had to boast about.

Ke Le'er's face showed caution. She stood up, leaning against a tree trunk, and whispered, "Fellow Daoists, are you not good demons?"

"Good, good, why wouldn't we be good?" the Rhino Demon quickly replied.

Ke Le'er whispered, "Fellow Daoist, you are already married..."

"Ah, our relationship has broken down," the Rhino Demon hurriedly said. "I'll write a divorce letter right away!"

However, a Demon King on the side took out an immortal treasure and said coldly, "Everyone, what's the point? Let's see who's truly capable. Whoever wins takes Fairy Le'er back to their cave for a good time. Why bother with such hypocrisy?"

No sooner had he spoken than several other demon kings pounced on him simultaneously. Immediately, red cloaks swirled. Several great demons pinned the speaker to the ground and gave him a savage beating, leaving him on the verge of death before the Lion Demon kicked him back to the neighboring hilltop.

"How dare you offend Fairy Le'er!""You scoundrel, I'll beat you every time I see you!""Though demons, we still possess upright hearts!"

Inside Ke Le'er's sleeve, Li Changshou's paper effigy almost burst out laughing. He suddenly thought it would be excellent if these great demons, were they not burdened by karma, could be turned into mounts and sent to the Grandmaster for amusement. Unfortunately, though each seemed loyal and good, their greedy gazes, occasional sneers, and the karma entwined around their demon souls already exposed their true nature.

Li Changshou continued to transmit instructions, coaching lines on the spot, and even guest-starring as an expression coach...

On Mount Yaosheng, Ao Yi, disguised as Ke Le'er, looked like a delicate white flower, somewhat bewildered. Several dark figures stood beside him, their kind smiles concealing malicious intent. And behind these dark figures, beside Mount Yaosheng, another towering dark shadow seemed to stand silently, a large hand already grasping everything within a hundred-mile radius...

Li Changshou's calculations were proceeding methodically.

Ke Le'er skillfully maneuvered among the demon kings, keeping them in check, while she herself quietly healed in the forest. These demon kings secretly competed, each summoning their demon generals and soldiers. They set up camps in the forest, drank and feasted through the night, racking their brains to display their individual might.

Thus, a day and a night passed peacefully...

Li Changshou's seven divisions of paper effigies were in position. Two sets, making a total of five sets, of Earth Fiend Spirit Explosion paper effigies had been temporarily assembled and delivered to this location. The previous two sets of Earth Fiend Spirit Explosion arrays were secretly buried underground. The three subsequent sets of Earth Fiend Spirit Explosion arrays, arranged in a Three Talents formation, were placed around Mount Yaosheng.

The spiritual trees within the Immortal Du Sect would surely be richly rewarded for their contribution!

—After this battle, Li Changshou's top priority would be to refine more fine wine for his junior aunt, so she would continue to collect tree sap.

Paper effigies were bound to be in short supply!

Li Changshou controlled the rhythm of every aspect, not wanting to miss any detail, steadily advancing his script... One stage followed another!

Once the paper effigy army was in position, Ke Le'er's 'brother' arrived with a thousand Heavenly Soldiers, exerting pressure on Mount Yaosheng! These thousand Heavenly Soldiers were old, trustworthy Heavenly Court veterans, carefully selected by Dong Mu Gong, with impeccable backgrounds. The 'Heavenly General' hadn't told them their specific mission, only that they were there to eradicate demons.

Thunder exploded in the air, drums boomed, and the Heavenly Soldiers formed battle arrays, glaring menacingly at the demons below.

On Mount Yaosheng, the four demon kings were enraged by the sight. Each prepared their troops and beat their drums to challenge the enemy!

However, these events on the surface had already stirred the karmic great demons hidden deep beneath Mount Yaosheng!

Within the great underground formation, the demons rushed out of the mountain, which floated in a subterranean cavern and was almost hollowed out. Hundreds of karmic great demons surrounded the altar at the peak, each looking upwards.

A low voice asked, "What's happening?""Just a few minor demons clashing with a Heavenly General, nothing to do with this place.""This Human-Slaying Sword is crucial for the revival of our Sacred Clan. It only needs another three hundred years to be completed, so there must be no mistakes!""We've been so secretive. If anything were to go wrong, it would start in the Northern Continent. The Witch Clan has already accepted their fate, so there's nothing to fear."

A few simple exchanges revealed tons of information!

Finally, sixteen demons remained, sitting cross-legged on the bone altar, while the rest returned to their respective caves. This minor skirmish on the surface wasn't worth their intervention.

In the corner, the two hidden avatars remained completely undetected... Their method of concealment was certainly not to be underestimated.

Li Changshou secretly observed the Jade Emperor's avatar's expression, noticing that Zhao Dezhu merely frowned slightly before composing himself and continuing to focus on other matters.

—The Jade Emperor himself wasn't human, so it was normal for him to have no reaction to the name 'Human-Slaying Sword'.

Li Changshou, on the other hand, felt like cursing. These demons, back then, refined the Witch-Slaying Sword using human souls, slaying several Ancestor Witches, thereby establishing an unending feud with humanity. Now they were doing it again, refining a Human-Slaying Sword using Witch Clan souls! What did they intend to do? Launch a sneak attack on the Fire Cloud Cave?

This battle was no longer just about gaining merit. Humans and demons could never coexist! Well, with the exception of some legitimate marriages.

Now, let's watch the 'great battle' on Mount Yaosheng. The thousand Heavenly Soldiers, following the orders of the Heavenly General, 'Ke Le'er's brother,' each conjured two immortal beans they carried, creating two thousand immortal bean soldiers. These two thousand immortal bean soldiers immediately entered the fray, charging towards the demon soldiers assembled by the four demon kings.

According to the script, Ke Le'er stood up and said, "Everyone, please don't do this. I should go back..."

"Fairy, wait!" The Rhino Demon waved his large hand. "Children, let them see our power! Kill!" Horns blared, and thousands of demon soldiers ascended into the sky simultaneously, counterattacking the immortal bean soldiers, engaging in a great battle between heaven and earth!

However... These demon soldiers were actually able to fight back and forth with the bean soldiers created by the 'Scatter Beans into Soldiers' divine ability, with victories and losses on both sides. This was something Li Changshou had absolutely not expected... These were Dao Soldiers! Just Dao Soldiers who could execute limited commands! Were these demons disgracing their ancestors? Were these demon soldiers too weak, or had he made the immortal bean soldiers too strong?

Li Changshou sighed inwardly... But he couldn't help but feel that demons of this caliber, constantly shouting "revival of the Sacred Clan," were perhaps misunderstanding something in the current Great Desolation. He must not be careless; he needed to respond calmly to the enemy.

The demon soldiers were fierce and numerous. The two thousand immortal bean soldiers, having exhausted too much immortal power, were eventually wiped out. On the ground lay over two hundred demon soldier corpses, and some... bean powder.

Having lost the first battle, the 'Heavenly General' in the sky looked ashen and cursed, "Le'er, don't be so stubborn! Conspiring with demons and defying the Heavenly Courts, you have embarked on a path from which there is no return!"

Ke Le'er cried out, "Brother, I'll go back with you now! Please don't create any more slaughter!"

Immediately, Ke Le'er was about to fly up, but the four demon kings of Mount Yaosheng simultaneously made their move, leading their troops to attack the sky. Before the two sides could engage, the Heavenly Soldiers sounded the gong to retreat, swiftly withdrawing on their clouds!

At once, Mount Yaosheng was filled with the shouts and roars of demon beasts, mocking the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals for their pathetic weakness.

"General! We might still win with our battle formation!" On the way back to the Heavenly Courts, a Heavenly Soldier captain, unable to bear it, volunteered to fight. The Heavenly Soldiers looked eagerly at this unfamiliar 'Heavenly General.'

"Don't worry," the 'Heavenly General' whispered, "those demon kings are powerful. A direct confrontation would only needlessly increase casualties."

The 'Heavenly General' said in a low voice, then shouted loudly, his voice echoing for a thousand miles.

Li Changshou's shout was: "Demons of Mount Yaosheng, your open assault on Heavenly Soldiers today has violated the Heavenly Rules! When I return tomorrow to punish you, I will make you pay for your blood debts!"

With that, Li Changshou quickly led the thousand Heavenly Soldiers away from the horizon, leaving many of them flushed and deeply frustrated...

The four demon kings on Mount Yaosheng were high-spirited, and the assembled demons were even more invigorated, howling continuously. It was as if, after ancient times, the sky had cleared and the rain had stopped! Their demon race was on the rise again!

Shortly after, Ke Le'er suggested she leave on her own, but the four demon kings jointly detained her, telling her to heal and cultivate there, and that they would handle any trouble that came their way.

These four demon kings weren't foolish; they knew that having attacked Heavenly Soldiers, more would come tomorrow. They immediately summoned two more demon kings overnight—including the one they had previously thrashed—and the six great demon kings gathered tens of thousands of demon soldiers, preparing for the upcoming major battle.

At the same time, they spread the news of their great victory over the Heavenly Soldiers to their demon acquaintances...

On the second day, the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals indeed returned, this time with an army of ten thousand. Upon arrival, they again directly used the 'Scatter Beans into Soldiers' technique to forcefully attack Mount Yaosheng. The demons of Mount Yaosheng retaliated, engaging in a fierce, chaotic battle with the immortal bean soldiers. Ultimately, they achieved another great victory as the immortal bean soldiers exhausted their immortal power!

These ten thousand Heavenly Soldiers did not directly participate in the fighting. Li Changshou, likewise, left a stern warning and departed in a hurry.

Within the great underground formation, the karmic great demons began to mock and jeer. They ridiculed the Heavenly Courts' soldiers for being gutless, retreating without a fight, and mocked the Heavenly Courts for being short on troops and generals, yet still trying to project majesty, merely puffing themselves up.

The Jade Emperor's avatar, hiding in the corner, was so enraged he almost drew his sword and preemptively cut them down. Fortunately, Li Changshou stopped him in time...

"It's for the plot, it's for the plot, Your Majesty."

"These arrogant demons insult my Heavenly Courts! They must be killed!"

"Rest assured, Your Majesty, they will be reduced to ashes shortly!"

Only then did Zhao Dezhu nod in satisfaction, continuing to hide quietly with Li Changshou, deducing how to seize the sword later.

Li Changshou continued to control the overall situation, secretly spreading news of Mount Yaosheng's demon soldiers resisting the heavens across various demon territories...

Due to the events at Mount Yaosheng, various factions in the Heavenly Courts were also alarmed. Many military generals rushed to the Lingxiao Palace to request battle, but Dong Mu Gong dismissed them all, stating that the Jade Emperor had gone to the Jade Pool to rest and they should wait a few days.

Incidentally, Mu Gong used his military authority to deploy an army of thirty thousand, placed under the command of the newly appeared Heavenly General, 'Ke Zhen'e.'

On the third day, Mount Yaosheng had gathered eighty thousand demon soldiers and twenty-six demon kings.

Li Changshou arrived with a thirty-thousand-strong Heavenly Courts army, similarly using the 'Scatter Beans into Soldiers' technique to perform a perfunctory attack.

After these demon soldiers painstakingly wiped out the bean soldiers, leaving thousands of corpses, and were about to counterattack the sky, the Heavenly Courts army had already retreated in advance, successfully avoiding a direct confrontation...

The morale of the demon race greatly soared!

At this point, except for the Rhino Demon and a few other demon kings, no one else had noticed that Ke Le'er, the cause of all this, had already vanished.

A patrolling minor demon delivered a letter to the Rhino Demon and the other four demon kings. The letter stated that she could not bear to see living beings suffer, and would return to thank them after the conflict subsided.

Although the four demon kings felt a bit of regret, they didn't think much of it. "Women, after all, aren't hard to find, are they?" The most important thing now was to fight the Heavenly Soldiers! To increase their prestige among the demon race and pave the way for their future careers!

It could be said that these three waves of attacks launched by the Heavenly Courts greatly boosted the morale of the demon race.

When news spread from the Heavenly Courts that the Jade Emperor was enraged and had ordered Dong Mu Gong to lead a hundred thousand Heavenly Soldiers to wipe out the demons of Mount Yaosheng tomorrow;

That night... Just one night! Gusts of demon winds swept from north to south, and from east to west, converging on Mount Yaosheng, gathering over two hundred thousand demon soldiers, over a hundred demon kings, and dozens of ancient great demons!

At this time, the demon factions were mainly divided into three types. First were the moderate faction, who sought to live peacefully in the crevices of the Great Desolation, avoiding humans and not getting involved in any conflicts between humans and demons, such as Iron Fang City. Second were the revivalist faction, who wished to contribute their strength to restore the demon race to its ancient glory. Third were the radical faction, who still retained the ancient superiority complex of the demon race when facing weaker humans, taking pleasure in cannibalism...

The second and third types largely overlapped and constituted the majority of the demon race.

At this moment, most of the demons who first reacted and gathered on Mount Yaosheng belonged to the third type.

Li Changshou's immortal sense swept over the area, and the pervasive karma across the mountains and plains was quite shocking to him. If not for the fact that this setup was designed to catch a bigger fish, he would have wanted to directly blow up the place under the cover of night...

He decided to wait and see; perhaps some important demon figures would appear tomorrow.

At this moment, perhaps half of the demons on Mount Yaosheng didn't know that many demon experts here had just climbed directly out of the secret demon stronghold underground...

And a portion of the demon allied forces here were also temporarily dispatched by those old demons from underground.

Mount Yaosheng was incredibly important to them; the treasure sword below, in particular, carried a portion of the demon race's destiny and could not be lost.

The demon race, from top to bottom, now believed that this conflict with the Heavenly Courts was the turning point for their revival!

Of course, half of the demons were intoxicated by the consecutive victories of the past few days. The other half didn't even take the Heavenly Courts seriously, believing that with its current shortage of troops and generals, were it not for the Grand Pure One's presence and the Dao Ancestor backing the Jade Emperor, the demon race would have long since attacked.

However, the demons had not noticed... That large hand, which had secretly enveloped Mount Yaosheng, had begun to slowly close.

But there was no rush. Li Changshou decided to play it safe one more time.

It was approaching dawn, but the sun had not yet risen.

One of Li Changshou's paper effigies traveled to the border between the Southern Continent and the Eastern Continent, found the hidden cave dwelling, and released simulated demon qi.

Before long, the cave's barrier opened wide, and a disheveled black panther rushed out in a panic.

Li Changshou smiled faintly, "Fellow Daoist, how have you been lately?"

"Good, good... Fellow Daoist Lu Ya, are you... are you alright?"

"It's nothing serious. I just suffered a few qi deviations during cultivation recently, but I managed to correct them in time. Fortunately, I'm unharmed."

The black panther immediately breathed a sigh of relief, seeming to want to say something but hesitating.

Li Changshou had already taken out some wine and dishes, and chuckled, "The wine is ready. Won't you invite this poor Daoist in for a drink?"

The black panther naturally agreed at once, inviting Li Changshou into the cave. Before long, they were exchanging toasts, and the panther was foolishly drunk.

Li Changshou sighed and began to speak of the current misfortunes and hardships of the demon race...

The water demon Miao Miao nearby immediately sensed something, but carefully glanced at Li Changshou and didn't utter a single word.

Just then, the black panther was filled with emotion and sighed, "My demon race will surely flourish again!"

Li Changshou nodded calmly, continuing to ply the fellow with wine.

Before long, the black panther was fast asleep on the table. Li Changshou glanced at the water demon Miao Miao, said nothing more, and took out a treasure pouch filled with elixirs and spirit stones.

"Cultivate in peace."

"Yes!"

The water demon immediately bowed and assented, watching Li Changshou leave the cave and disappear using Earth Escape.

The black panther's miniature, jinxing Heavenly Dao ability served as yet another layer of insurance...

Li Changshou chuckled softly, continuing to ponder if there were any oversights, any inadequacies in his planning, or any potential sources of unforeseen changes.

At this very moment— Demans gathered on Mount Yaosheng, the great demons underground stirred restlessly, and the defenses at the altar continuously weakened. Three hundred thousand Heavenly Soldiers were ready for battle. In Central Divine Continent, many immortal sects heard news of the Heavenly Courts' war on the demon race. Righteous individuals wanted to rush to Mount Yaosheng, but remained on the periphery, not daring to approach rashly. More and more karmic great demons appeared on Mount Yaosheng... Lu Ya, Saints, the Heavenly Courts' battle for ascendance...

Ao Yi had by now gone to rendezvous with Ox-Head and Horse-Face. Ke Le'er had gone offline again, becoming a small legend in the Great Desolation.

Ao Yi even actively inquired if he should mobilize the Dragon Clan's forces, but Li Changshou declined, telling the Dragon Clan to recuperate.

Today's battle had nothing to do with the number of their own troops.

Calculating the time, when it reached Chen shi (7-9 AM), Li Changshou gently crushed the jade talisman in his hand.

In front of the Lingxiao Palace, Dong Mu Gong, who had been resting with closed eyes, suddenly opened them. Looking at the dozens of Heavenly Generals before him, he roared: "All divisions, deploy! Strictly adhere to all previous instructions. Any failure to follow orders will be dealt with according to Heavenly Rules!"

"Understood!" Dozens of Heavenly Generals responded in unison, then turned and transformed into streaks of light, shooting towards the South, Central, and East Heavenly Gates!

Dong Mu Gong turned and bowed to the Lingxiao Palace, then also hurried towards the South Heavenly Gate.

At the three great Heavenly Gates, the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals, who had been waiting for a long time, departed in batches, majestically flying towards the desolate convergence point of the three continents!

Half an hour later, the first three waves of armies appeared a thousand miles from Mount Yaosheng... Drums boomed like thunder above the clouds, and divine might permeated heaven and earth! All living beings within a thousand miles retreated afar.

—Having been disturbed back and forth over the past few days, most peaceful spirits, elves, and monsters had already fled to distant lands.

A steady stream of Heavenly Soldiers arrived, with the three routes advancing simultaneously. The demons felt considerable pressure and formed battle formations on Mount Yaosheng to meet the attack.

Another half an hour later, three hundred thousand Heavenly Soldiers gathered around Mount Yaosheng. They spread out their formations, each positioned three hundred miles from Mount Yaosheng, and began the standard procedure for Heavenly Soldiers and Generals going to war. Scatter Beans into Soldiers!

But today, even if each Heavenly Soldier only focused on one bean soldier, that would still be three hundred thousand immortal bean soldiers! These immortal bean soldiers quickly formed arrays and, according to the will of each Heavenly Soldier, charged straight towards Mount Yaosheng...

For a moment, figures blotted out the sky!

Dong Mu Gong appeared with the eastern army. The old man, clad in brocade robes, was exceptionally majestic at this moment. "All armies, beat the drums! Prepare the formations!"

Instantly, the drums of the three armies thundered, and the Heavenly Soldiers' morale soared. Today, they would finally engage in battle!

The previously enthusiastic atmosphere on Mount Yaosheng instantly turned subdued and somber, as the demons also felt the Heavenly Courts' extremely strong battle intent. First, use three hundred thousand Dao Soldiers to exhaust their demon army, then have the Heavenly Soldiers launch a coordinated attack... This strategy truly put immense pressure on them.

But at this moment, the demon soldiers' morale remained high. Various demon kings continuously shouted commands, and the ancient horns blared.

Within the great underground formation, two-thirds of the great demons quietly made their way to the surface along several paths...

In the corner, Li Changshou smiled slightly at the sight.

"Chang Geng, are we making our move?"

Zhao Dezhu's eyes were exceptionally bright.

Li Changshou nodded slowly and transmitted, "Your Majesty, no need to rush. Wait until the battle outside begins. Three hundred thousand Dao Soldiers will keep them busy for a while."

Zhao Dezhu nodded slowly, holding the Heavenly Dao treasure sword, and waited quietly.

Before long, the earth trembled. Even thousands of zhang away, it seemed one could hear the sounds of killing from above...

Li Changshou made a gesture to Zhao Dezhu, and the two quietly made their way towards the pool.

Once they neared the pool, over a dozen dark figures, who had infiltrated the great array earlier, swiftly flew towards the pool from various directions...

"Who's there!" A great demon with a lizard head sensed something and suddenly roared!

Over a dozen paper effigies appeared simultaneously, transforming into various male, female, old, and young figures. They unleashed hundreds of miniature array foundations, directly depleting most of Li Changshou's current stock of miniature arrays!

But the effect was incredibly obvious! In virtually an instant, hundreds of killing arrays, trapping arrays, and poison arrays surrounded the mountain, unleashing a barrage of fierce attacks upon it!

The great demons seemed bewildered by the assault, then immediately reacted, roaring as they charged towards the various array disks. Having been infiltrated in such a crucial location without any warning, they were indeed panicked.

Of the three demon experts guarding the pool, one actually charged directly out!

Li Changshou and Zhao Dezhu exchanged a glance. The moment the expert rushed out of the pool, they flashed into the water, transforming into two streams of light, and plunged straight to the bottom of the pool!

Zhao Dezhu slashed with the Heavenly Dao sword in his hand. The power of the Heavenly Dao directly manifested as a white beam, destroying the concealing array below with devastating force!

A paper effigy flew out of Li Changshou's sleeve, appearing as if his body had split in two, each rushing towards a demon expert atop one of the two giant bronze toads. Zhao Dezhu, meanwhile, flashed towards the 'Human-Slaying Sword'!

The demons had absolutely not expected that experts could silently enter their painstakingly set up great array! Even less did they expect that experts were already lurking by the pool, suddenly launching an attack directly targeting the Human-Slaying Sword!

How could these two demon experts bother with the two figures rushing to pin them down?

These two demons each employed their abilities: one transformed into a black flood dragon and pounced on Zhao Dezhu, while the other spat out a treasure pearl, also striking at Zhao Dezhu!

In this flash of lightning, as the two demons just employed their techniques, a current of water near the demon-slaying sword below transformed into a middle-aged Daoist, who seized the Human-Slaying Sword and pulled it out directly!

The entire mountain trembled!

The two demon experts were aghast. The black flood dragon swiftly plunged downwards! Zhao Dezhu endured the treasure pearl's strike, his body shimmering with golden light, but he raced directly towards the side of the pool!

In the middle-aged Daoist's palm, Yin and Yang energies swirled, and the restriction on the Human-Slaying Sword was instantly broken!

As the black flood dragon pounced, the middle-aged Daoist merely smiled faintly, his figure flickering. The moment the black flood dragon crashed into the bottom of the pool, he horizontally teleported out, successfully joining Zhao Dezhu, and crashed into a curtain of light!

They had entered the earth vein that had guided them to this place!

Zhao Dezhu slashed forward with the treasure sword in his hand. The power of the Heavenly Dao surged, and layers of bloody barriers shattered one after another!

Li Changshou supported Zhao Dezhu's left arm, fully exerting his Earth Escape technique!

Behind them, great demons roared and a horde of demons howled in fury. The dozen or so paper effigies that had been tying down the enemies had already been cut down...

For these demon experts, the sudden turn of events was simply too fast; they had no time to react. Even pursuing now seemed futile!

Over the past few days, Li Changshou and Zhao Dezhu had rehearsed the process of seizing the sword dozens of times in their minds. Now, their sudden assault flowed seamlessly, like clouds and water...

The only drawback was the significant waste of precious materials.

Several paper effigies flew out of Li Changshou's sleeve. While obstructing the enemies, they directly blew up the earth veins behind them.

To prevent the pursuing great demons from escaping the range of the great spirit explosion, Li Changshou and Zhao Dezhu teleported ten li through the earth veins, then burst out of them, frantically escaping diagonally upwards!

Three thousand zhang from the surface... two thousand zhang... Five hundred zhang, three hundred zhang!

Li Changshou grasped Zhao Dezhu's arm, abruptly turned, aimed his left hand at the great underground array, spread his five fingers, and forcefully closed them!

Earth Fiend Spirit Explosion Array!

His main body's mind was instantly flooded with information. The two underground sets, totaling one hundred and forty-six paper effigies, with an additional thirty-six paper effigies wildly pouring immortal power into them, simultaneously reached the critical point of the Golden Immortal realm! The Heavenly Dao disallowed it; Heavenly Dao power trembled, and self-destruction ensued. The spirit explosion forces interconnected, superimposed, and catalyzed each other!

Suddenly bursting out of the earth, he heard the whistling wind in his ears and the earth-shattering cries of battle. The intensity with which these demon soldiers had fought the immortal bean soldiers over the past few days had truly astonished Li Changshou.

Li Changshou had no time to think further; his recently cleared mind was again flooded with information. On the surface, there were still three sets of spirit explosion arrays!

"Water God, how dare you!" Suddenly, a somewhat familiar roar was heard, and a sword light shot from the side.

Seeing this, Zhao Dezhu immediately flung Li Changshou's avatar behind him. With a horizontal sweep of his sword, two beams of sword light clashed!

The result was somewhat awkward... Zhao Dezhu himself, along with Li Changshou's momentarily stunned avatar, were both sent flying by the sword light.

An old Daoist carrying a gourd on his back shot from the horizon, his figure flickering several times, rushing towards Li Changshou and Zhao Dezhu in a flash of lightning.

However... The main body controlling the various paper effigies was not the paper effigy accompanying the Jade Emperor's avatar...

In the true south, northwest, and northeast corners of Mount Yaosheng, three sets of Earth Fiend Spirit Explosion paper effigies successfully activated! On Mount Yaosheng, cracks had already appeared in the ground, and countless white lights emanated from these fissures...

Regardless of their cultivation level, the demons suddenly felt an inexplicable dread, most of them looking down.

In that instant, the old Daoist with the gourd on his back desperately attacked Li Changshou's paper effigy; Zhao Dezhu raised his sword to block. The old Daoist's eyes were filled with hatred. Without even taking the gourd off his back, he roared: "Please turn, my treasure!"

Zhao Dezhu's figure was instantly locked. A wisp of white smoke shot from the mouth of the gourd on the old Daoist's back. Above the white smoke, two fierce eyes condensed, emitting a red beam that aimed directly for Zhao Dezhu's neck!

With a swoosh, the universe trembled, and a figure appeared out of thin air, directly blocking Zhao Dezhu. A small pagoda rotated above his head, scattering wisps of Xuanhuang qi that completely enveloped him!

This was a middle-aged Daoist, none other than Li Changshou's commonly used 'Human Sect Little Master' disguise!

In an instant, the red beam collided with the Xuanhuang qi. Li Changshou's body trembled, but old Daoist Lu Ya's gourd immediately fizzled out!

"Go!" Li Changshou pushed him back. Zhao Dezhu's figure vanished into the wind, directly sent far away by Li. Before Zhao Dezhu was pushed away, all he could do was release the treasure sword, abnormally rich with Heavenly Dao power, into Li Changshou's grasp.

At this moment, the spirit explosion beneath Mount Yaosheng had fully erupted. The ground continuously cracked amidst the tremors, the mountain body collapsed downwards, and violent power surged upwards. On the surface, three spheres of light appeared, and the universe continuously trembled...

At this moment, time flowed in instants!

There was no time for curses or words. Li Changshou and Lu Ya's figures flashed and disappeared! Lu Ya knew he couldn't stop Li Changshou and chose to flee outwards. Li Changshou, holding the Xuanhuang Pagoda above him, physically blocked him!

The Golden Crow was skilled at flying, born with extreme speed! What Li Changshou relied on were his escape methods and techniques!

The sounds of collision, flickering, and the muffled thunder of universal tremors erupted fiercely in this corner of the battlefield!

The three suns on the surface accelerated their eruption, and the underground spirit explosion directly blasted the mountain body into the air...

The Heavenly Soldiers in the distance retreated in unison, forming arrays to resist the impact of the aftershocks.

The immortals watching from afar, regardless of their cultivation level, were now filled with fear!

Just as these five great spirit explosion arrays were about to engulf everything on Mount Yaosheng, the two rapidly flickering figures suddenly stopped...

"Please turn, my treasure!"

Lu Ya could no longer fly out of the spirit explosion zone, but the gourd on his back shot out a red beam, striking directly at the Xuanhuang Pagoda and actually knocking it off Li Changshou's head! Lu Ya's face lit up with joy. An immortal rope flew from his sleeve, binding Li Changshou's waist and pulling him directly towards himself!

At this instant, the surrounding heaven and earth were enveloped in a blinding white...

"Such a divine ability cannot kill me!" Old Daoist Lu Ya roared with a ferocious expression, "Water God, you will be destroyed here today!"

However, Li Changshou's expression was too calm. The raging spiritual power swept over, engulfing both figures. Li Changshou's body, unprotected by the Xuanhuang Pagoda, was torn apart by the spiritual power as if it were a paper effigy. When Lu Ya was engulfed by the spiritual power, his expression was somewhat blank, as if he saw a hint of mockery at the Water God's lips. It seemed to be saying... Who gave you the confidence to think this was this poor Daoist's main body?

Heaven and earth, all white.

With continuous spiritual explosions, a small portion of the power canceled each other out, which was also within Li Changshou's calculations. After all, he needed to control the affected area; he couldn't destroy too many flowers and plants, as that would also incur a bit of karma.

After the spirit explosion, Mount Yaosheng became history. The earth collapsed into a basin a hundred miles in diameter, and within this basin, three circular deep pits appeared. Underground river water surged, and lakes would soon form...

This battle. All enemy demon soldiers on the surface were annihilated. Twenty percent of the surface experts escaped, and twenty percent of the underground great demons escaped. Li Changshou gained a substantial amount of merit, while also incurring a negligible amount of karma.

The three hundred thousand Heavenly Soldiers on the periphery seemed like three hundred thousand clay figures, all silent. They felt no sense of accomplishment, only overwhelming fear.

What Li Changshou found regrettable was that Lu Ya, who appeared at the very end, had managed to escape even under such circumstances... Lu Ya had shattered a cauldron-type innate spirit treasure and should have also suffered severe injuries. Truly, appearing for two breaths, then being severely injured for a thousand years.

A deathly silence permeated heaven and earth, as streaks of light flew in from the direction of Central Divine Continent.

At the edge of the basin, Li Changshou stood